Medical garment with transparent window

ABSTRACT

A garment for providing warmth and insulation to dialysis patients while maintaining unobstructed visual access to a patient&#39;s needle access site is described. The garment includes a transparent window and is made from a fabric material tailored to provide front and back covering. The garment includes a head opening with peripherally connected means for adjustment; and at least one transparent window providing viewing access to a particular location.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to garments, and more particularly, to garmentsand similar fabric suited for use in health care environments.

DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART

As a result of their treatment, dialysis patents commonly experiencecold sensation and desire to be completely covered to minimize thisheat-loss. A dialysis patient completely covered by a blanket obstructsthe view of the needle access site necessary for the healthcarepersonnel to perform their duties.

One of the risks associated with dialysis treatment is serious injury orpossible death caused by dislodgement of the fistula needle. Becausefistula needles are much larger in size and gauge than a typical needleattached to a syringe, they undergo significant pressure, which mayresult in dislodgement. Incidents of needle dislodgement are notuncommon.

The risk of serious injury as a result of needle dislodgement increaseswith the use of a blanket obstructing the view of a patient's needleaccess site. When used, blankets require constant monitoring byhealthcare personnel, including lifting the blanket to view the needleaccess site, which causes discomfort to the patient. Additionally, it isinefficient for a minimal staff attending to multiple patientssimultaneously to continuously lift and inspect each patient's accesssite.

In light of the deficiencies of ordinary blankets and the need forwarmth of dialysis patients, a new garment, adapted to provide constantviewing access to hospital staff, would have significant utility.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A garment for providing warmth and insulation to dialysis patients whilemaintaining unobstructed visual access to a patient's needle access siteis described.

The garment is worn draped over a patient's body with their head throughthe opening near the center, or put on sideways through the adjustmentstrip. The adjustment strip lies on either shoulder, (depending onaccess site location) and provides both length and temperatureadjustment to ensure proper window positioning and patient comfort. Thegarment may be worn in any position of a dialysis chair or hospital bed,including upright, semi-reclined, fully reclined, and in theTrendelenburg position. The garment can also be worn prior to or aftertreatment, when walking or otherwise being transported.

The garment may be constructed with any soft fabric with insulatingproperties. Polar fleece is well suited for this application due to itslightweight and hydrophobic properties. Further, it retrains itsinsulating characteristics even when wet, and is machine washable anddries quickly. The fleece material is commonly available in varyingthicknesses, providing different degrees of warmth.

The window (or windows) can be customized for any number ofapplications, and positioned anywhere on the front panel of the garment,where a surgical or access site is located. The window may be made ofany flexible clear material that can be attached to the garment.

Polyvinyl chloride provides a fully transparent window with reasonableflexibility and is widely produced.

The garment provides pleasant range of motion without feelingrestrictive. The garment, having a back section, provides an additionalbarrier between the patient and dialysis chair, further minimizing therisk of cross-contamination. The garment optionally includes a hoodand/or a foot-pouch, designed to retain heat to a patient's head andtheir feet. The garment also optionally includes one or more pockets forconvenience of the patient or the staff.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are diagrams of a patient wearing the medical garmentwith transparent window while standing with arms stretched (FIG. 1A),and seated in an upright position (FIG. 1B);

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a patient wearing the medical garment withtransparent window while lying in a reclined position;

FIG. 3 is a top-view diagram of a medical garment with transparentwindow made in accordance with a second variation of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are a close-up view of the adjustment strip; and

FIG. 5 is a close-up view of the transparent window.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1A, a patient (10) stands with a medical garment orgown (11) having a transparent window (12) thereon. With the arms (10 a,10 b) stretched, the transparent window (12) can be readily seen locatedin a proper position covering most of the left arm of the patient fordialysis treatment. With the provision of the transparent window (12)the whole situation can be readily monitored without removing the gownfrom the patient. Now referring to FIG. 1B, which is a diagram showingthe patient (10) wearing the medical garment or gown (11) withtransparent window (12) while seated in an upright position. It can bereadily seen that the transparent window (12) of the medical garment(11) is positioned over the needle access site or area (13) allowingunobstructed visual access to the bloodlines (14), needles, and medicaldevices commonly utilized in a dialysis procedure. It can be readilyappreciated that with the transparent window (12), the ongoing processof dialysis can be readily monitor without rending any uncomfortablehandling to the patient (10).

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a patient (20) wearing the medical garment (21)with transparent window (22) while lying in a reclined position. Thetransparent window (22) of the medical garment (21) is again properlypositioned over the needle access site or area (23) allowingunobstructed visual access to the bloodlines (24), needles, and medicaldevices commonly utilized in a dialysis procedure.

FIG. 3 is a top-view diagram of a medical garment (31) with transparentwindow (32) incorporated thereon in accordance with a variation of thepresent invention. This medical garment (32) is similar to the medicalgarment (11) shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B while with little variation. Themedical garment (30) is constructed primarily with fabric designed toretain an individual's body heat, such as, but not limited to, polarfleece. The medical garment (30) is further comprised of a head opening(31 h), typically cut midway between points 31 a and 31 c, whileillustrated at 31 b. From the side of head opening (31 h), the medicalgarment (30) is cut to its edge, providing adjustment strip (33)therealong.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are close-up view of the adjustment strip (33). Theadjustment strip (33) is composed of matching rows of connectingarrangements (35), such as Velcro, snaps, zippers, buttons, or othermeans generally available to the skilled in the art for connecting theopposing sides (32 a, 32 b) of the adjustment strip (33) of the medicalgarment (30). In this referred embodiment, buttons and holes are used asthe connecting arrangement 35 and arranged along the opposing sides (32a, 32 b)of the medical garment (30).

Returning to FIG. 3, the medical garment (31) is further composed of atransparent window (32) positioned below the adjustment strip (33).Transparent window (32) may be constructed of any non-permeable materialproviding unobstructed view, such as, but not limited to, polyvinylchloride.

FIG. 5 is a close-up view of the transparent window (12, 22, 32). Thetransparent window (12, 22, 32) is positioned over a hole or opening (11h, 21 h, 31 h) cut into the medical garment (11, 21, 31). The hole oropening (11 h, 21 h, 31 h) should be cut to a size sufficiently large toprovide an unobstructed viewing window to most patient's needle accesssite (13, 23), see FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2. The transparent window (12, 22,32) may be permanently or temporarily affixed over hole (11 h, 21 h, 31h) with means that securely maintain the position of the transparentwindow (12, 22, 32) in relation to the hole or opening (11 h, 21 h, 31h). Permanent attachment means may include, but are not limited to, suchas gluing, stitching, melting, compressing, or weaving. Temporaryattachment means may include, but are not limited to, Velcro, snaps,zippers, or buttons. This invention provides the transparent window (12,22, 32) designed to offer viewing access to a site typically at risk fordialysis patients. However, the transparent window (12, 22, 32) and holeor opening (11 h, 21 h, 31 h) may be repositioned to provide viewingaccess to any other body area as a result of surgery, such as over andsection of the torso, or any other limb. The use of the dialysis patientexample in this patent is not to be considered a narrowing of use of theinvention described herein, nor any rights associated with this patent.

Returning to FIG. 3, the lower portion of the medical garment (31)optionally includes a foot-pouch section (34). The foot-pouch (34) maybe extended or folded under a patient's feet and secured with two rowsof connecting arrangements (35), such as, but not limited to, Velcro,snaps, zippers, or buttons. The medical garment (31) optionally includesone or more pockets (36), and a hood (37).

It is contemplated for embodiments of the invention to extend toindividual elements and concepts described herein, independently ofother concepts, ideas or systems, as well as for the embodiments toinclude a combinations of elements recited anywhere in this patent.Although illustrative embodiments have been described in detail, it isunderstood that the invention is not limited to those preciseembodiments. Many modifications and variations of the inventionsdescribed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art.Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of the invention be definedby the following claims and their equivalents. Furthermore, it iscontemplated that a particular feature described either individually oras part of an embodiment can be combined with other individuallyidentified features, or parts of other embodiments, even if the otherfeatures or embodiments make no mention of the particular feature. Theabsence of describing combinations is not intended to preclude theinventor form claiming rights to such combinations.

1. A garment with transparent window, comprising: a fabric material cutto provide front and back covering; a head opening with peripherallyconnected means for adjustment; and at least one transparent windowproviding viewing access to a particular location.
 2. The garment ofclaim 1, wherein the fabric material is made from polar fleece.
 3. Thegarment of claim 1, wherein the means for adjustment is selected fromamong, Velcro, snaps, zippers, buttons, fastening means, andcombinations thereof.
 4. The garment of claim 1, wherein the transparentwindow is polyvinyl chloride.
 5. The garment of claim 1, furthercomprising a hood.
 6. The garment of claim 1, further comprising afoot-pouch.
 7. The garment of claim 1, further comprising one or morepockets.
 8. A patient gown, comprising a compliant sheet of material forproviding at least a covering to a body portion of a patient to betreated; and at least a transparent window for providing a visual accessto the body portion.
 9. The gown as recited in claim 8, wherein thetransparent window is detachably attached to the compliant sheet ofmaterial.
 10. The gown as recited in claim 9, wherein the transparentwindow is made from polyvinyl chloride.
 11. The gown as recited in claim8, wherein the compliant sheet of material includes front and backportions capable of covering front and back of the patient.
 12. The gownas recited in claim 10, wherein the compliant sheet of material furtherincludes a neck portion adjoining the front and backing portions. 13.The gown as recited in claim 11, wherein the compliant sheet of materialincludes a hood attached to the neck portion.
 14. The gown as recited inclaim 12, wherein the compliant sheet of material further includes afoot-pouch.
 15. The gown as recited in claim 8, wherein the compliantsheet includes at least one pocket.
 16. The gown as recited in claim 13,wherein the neck portion includes an adjusting arrangement.
 17. The gownas recited in claim 8, wherein the compliant sheet of material is madefrom polar fleece.
 18. The gown as recited in claim 8, wherein thetransparent window is fixedly attached to the compliant sheet ofmaterial.
 19. A patient gown, comprising a body made from a compliantmaterial tailored to provide front and back covering; a head openingwith adjusting arrangement facilitating peripheral changes of theopening; and at least one transparent window located at the body forproviding viewing access to a particular location of a patient,
 20. Thepatient gown as recited in claim 1, wherein the transparent window isdetachable attached to the body, and is made from polar fleece orpolyvinyl chloride.